When I started doing calligraphy it was looked at with some suspicion or surprise. I showed no inclination towards being a designer or artsy — I knew enough Photoshop to crop,or do some ‘dramatic quote + picture’ spec graphics for clients, but it was nothing I seriously pursued. I am spontaneous and I work with my chaos. I guess that’s why teaching grammar to kids and adults makes perfect sense to me, but agonizing over that one pixel off doesn’t.
It was a Tita who asked, point blank, “What does calligraphy do for you?”
I started calligraphy because of discontent. I was working in advertising and digital marketing. I was what they called a “young creative”, but I was older than the other young creatives who had more experience in the field. I was struggling to reconcile what I knew of writing with how to sell ideas that sell. I was writing for other people, staring at a screen for several hours a day, and was not entirely sure if I liked what I was doing.
There’s a part of me that felt guilty about it. I had a household to worry about, a dog and cat to feed, how dare I have a hobby for me? But I needed something for myself. What I enjoyed — writing and teaching — were services I did for pay. I didn’t entirely mind, but I was getting tired. I needed something I didn’t ‘have’ to do.
I said about that. I was probably more dramatic.
Tita, being Tita, only nodded and said something about seeing where it goes and keeping at it even if I never dared make a sense out of it because, “That’s where your soul lies.”
That was two years ago. I still do ad work, and I’d like to think I’ve gotten the hang of how it should go. I teach now, and I plan to take masters in teaching. I am happier and a lot less discontent. I have just figured out how to do freehand calligraphy without it looking like a five year old playing with markers. It has made me as happy as a kid playing with markers. No, I won’t do branding or wedding invitations unless they’re for friends I really, really love and not want to kill at their worst.
This makes me happy. That’s all there is to it.
